THE MEDIA BUSINESS

THE MEDIA BUSINESS; A Price War Grows Hotter

Published: August 1, 1994

LONDON, July 31—
A newspaper price war heated up today when The Independent, losing a circulation battle, slashed its cover price to 30 pence (roughly 46 cents) from 50 pence in an attempt to keep pace with cost-cutting rivals.

The Times, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, kicked off the war earlier this year by cutting its cover price to 30 pence in what analysts saw as a calculated bid to force weaker players out of the market. When The Daily Telegraph matched the price, The Times cut again, to 20 pence.

The Independent's daily circulation has sunk to around 275,000, well below its peak of about 400,000, compared with just under one million copies at The Telegraph, more than 500,000 at The Times and 400,000 at The Guardian.